I was in SA last week and I went to the Pearl for the first time. I gotta say I was impressed! It's a really nice area. It reminds me of a cross between Tribeca and the Upper West Side in New York.

If they can keep adding lots of ground level retail as the area expands, it will grow into an exceptional area that will be a fantastic neighborhood for lots of people to live if they want a short commute to downtown.

I was in SA last week and I went to the Pearl for the first time. I gotta say I was impressed! It's a really nice area. It reminds me of a cross between Tribeca and the Upper West Side in New York.

If they can keep adding lots of ground level retail as the area expands, it will grow into an exceptional area that will be a fantastic neighborhood for lots of people to live if they want a short commute to downtown.

I can't give as good an answer as I'd like because I was with family (including my small daughter) so I couldn't really get close enough to take a good look at it... we went to the bar at the Hotel Emma then ate at the Boiler House.

They did a great job at either restoring or rebuilding the old structures in the area. The amount of ground level retail and the layout of it overall made for a great walking experience, and leading up to the river was very nice with the amphitheater, etc. I see what people mean by making the river in that area not like the Riverwalk downtown. It's a peaceful, calm setting without any honky-tonks or tourist crap... refreshing.

From what I could see of the Cellars from where I was, it looked OK. But compared to everything else in the area, just OK. Certainly much better than a blue glass building would have been. They kept the general feel of the architecture in line with the existing buildings, but they didn't seem to go to any great lengths to make it as pretty. It fits in well enough though.

The interior of Emma was fantastic... they did a great job of making use of the existing space while retaining the old brewery parts as decor. So I hope the interior of the Cellars will try to replicate the same kind of feel.

I can't give as good an answer as I'd like because I was with family (including my small daughter) so I couldn't really get close enough to take a good look at it... we went to the bar at the Hotel Emma then ate at the Boiler House.

They did a great job at either restoring or rebuilding the old structures in the area. The amount of ground level retail and the layout of it overall made for a great walking experience, and leading up to the river was very nice with the amphitheater, etc. I see what people mean by making the river in that area not like the Riverwalk downtown. It's a peaceful, calm setting without any honky-tonks or tourist crap... refreshing.

From what I could see of the Cellars from where I was, it looked OK. But compared to everything else in the area, just OK. Certainly much better than a blue glass building would have been. They kept the general feel of the architecture in line with the existing buildings, but they didn't seem to go to any great lengths to make it as pretty. It fits in well enough though.

The interior of Emma was fantastic... they did a great job of making use of the existing space while retaining the old brewery parts as decor. So I hope the interior of the Cellars will try to replicate the same kind of feel.

How's that for an answer?

The Hotel Emma is absolutely amazing!!
The restaurants and bars in the hotel area are wonderful!!

The development, which would take up nearly the entire block at the northwest corner of Broadway and Pearl Parkway, is still in early planning stages, Silver Ventures spokeswoman Elizabeth Fauerso said. But the developers have decided not to include multifamily because of high office demand and to provide a counterbalance to all the new apartments nearby, she said.

At 10 stories, the development will tower over the midrise apartment buildings on lower Broadway. It will be among the tallest buildings at the Pearl, where the under-construction Cellars at Pearl apartment building is set to have about 10 stories.

Pearl developer Silver Ventures plans to build a roughly 10-story office and retail development along the lower Broadway corridor, bringing a new level of density to the fast-growing area.
The development, which would take up nearly the entire block at the northwest corner of Broadway and Pearl Parkway, is still in early planning stages, Silver Ventures spokeswoman Elizabeth Fauerso said. But the developers have decided not to include multifamily because of high office demand and to provide a counterbalance to all the new apartments nearby, she said.

Shown added that while there are no immediate plans for the site, the Silver Ventures team intends to start conceptualizing ideas later this year, with plans starting to materialize by late 2018 or early 2019.

Rio Perla Properties LP, an entity operated by Silver Ventures, purchased the two sites from Samuels Glass Co. back in April 2015, according to documents filed with the county. The company then leased back the space, which encompasses nearly 2.76 acres at 221 Newell Ave. — a site to the west of a Can Plant at Pearl apartment complex, to the north of the Fox Motel site Silver Ventures closed on last year, to the east of the river, and south of Pearl's soon-to-open food hall.

The vacated properties will join a short list of other parcels Silver Ventures is planning to develop over the next few years, steps Shown unofficially described as "Pearl 2.0"

"Now that the main campus is finished out, we still have five major development sites to work with," he said. "The question now is, how do we develop all of those together in holistic way that makes sense?"

Developers are laying the groundwork for several acres of new housing, retail and office space between the Pearl and the lively bars on St. Mary’s Street in Tobin Hill. The historic neighborhood is going through a revival after a deadly shooting in the early ’90s led to a two-decade decline along the St. Mary’s strip.

Flasher has already sold 1.3 acres to SOJO Urban Development, which plans to build 30 townhomes over the next two to four years, with prices starting at about $400,000, Yndo said. The firm might build a second phase with another 30 homes. About two years ago, SOJO completed East Quincy Townhomes just across the river from the Pearl, and it’s currently building Sojo Crossing near the Flasher site.

A handful of other developments are either being designed or are under construction in the neighborhood. Chris Erck, co-owner of Tacoland, plans to renovate an adjacent building on Josephine Street into a coworking space for small companies “that have outgrown spaces like Geekdom and are gaining traction in their respective markets,” he said in an email. The project, which has the tentative name RVRBOX, will incorporate shipping containers in its interior and will have one or two apartments on its second floor, he said.

Silver Ventures, the developer of the Pearl, owns about 4 acres of vacant land on the west bank of the San Antonio River. The development firm isn’t sure what it wants to do with the site, and it won’t start planning for another 18 months, spokeswoman Elizabeth Fauerso said.

There's a lot more in the article, but it seems as though the Pearl is picking up momentum to stretch to St. Mary's.

“The Pearl is more about community than commerce,” Shown said. “When we started, that’s how we decided we would measure the success – whether we were catalytic to the neighborhood and created a spark. That has become a filter through which all our decisions passed. If we are successful in that regard, we would be an economic success.”

Earlier this month, Shown and the development team gathered for a three-day visioning session to plan the next phase.

Already underway are buildings at Broadway and Avenue B that will bring 344,000 sq. ft. more commercial office space to the Pearl, and a new 223-unit Brewery South apartment complex, set to begin construction this fall.

What will become of the 2.76-acre former Samuels Glass complex on Newell Street is still being discussed. “Some really cool ideas have come out,” Shown said, and like the original structures at the Pearl, the glass factory building will not be demolished. “It has some great potential.”

The Pearl is one of 25 developments from around the world selected as finalists for ULI’s 2017 Global Awards for Excellence, widely recognized as one of the land use industry’s most prestigious award programs. Winners from among this year’s finalists – three in Asia, two in Europe, and 20 in North America – will be announced in October.

“[The Pearl has] been a real success not because we focused on the bottom line,” Shown said. “But because we focused on San Antonio and the community.”

This is a wonderful article about how the Pearl kind of ignited what have going on right now, and how it invigorated the area.

The Pearl was named one of the top five “great neighborhoods” in the U.S. by the American Planning Association’s this year.

The association on Wednesday released its list of 15 “Great Places in America,” which also included neighborhoods in Minneapolis; Cincinnati; Missoula, Montana; and Greenwood, South Carolina. The group honored five great neighborhoods, streets and public spaces.

“The neighborhoods recognized this year are proof that planning creates more vibrant, equitable, healthy neighborhoods,” said Cynthia Bowen, the association’s president, in a news release. “Through dedicated, community-wide engagement efforts, this year’s designees are creating better places for all, and setting an example for other neighborhoods nationwide.”

The Pearl has grown in recent years with the completion of a food hall, Hotel Emma and the upscale Cellars apartment complex, as well as new retail businesses such as the Jazz TX music venue. A 10-story office tower and another apartment complex are in the works.

“Pearl has been a great success for San Antonio, helping us connect all our residents with downtown San Antonio,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a statement. “Pearl is a great example of what we can achieve when we plan for the future together by harnessing our strengths and leveraging our collective vision.”

The Pearl was named one of the top five “great neighborhoods” in the U.S. by the American Planning Association’s this year.

The association on Wednesday released its list of 15 “Great Places in America,” which also included neighborhoods in Minneapolis; Cincinnati; Missoula, Montana; and Greenwood, South Carolina. The group honored five great neighborhoods, streets and public spaces.

“The neighborhoods recognized this year are proof that planning creates more vibrant, equitable, healthy neighborhoods,” said Cynthia Bowen, the association’s president, in a news release. “Through dedicated, community-wide engagement efforts, this year’s designees are creating better places for all, and setting an example for other neighborhoods nationwide.”

The Pearl has grown in recent years with the completion of a food hall, Hotel Emma and the upscale Cellars apartment complex, as well as new retail businesses such as the Jazz TX music venue. A 10-story office tower and another apartment complex are in the works.

“Pearl has been a great success for San Antonio, helping us connect all our residents with downtown San Antonio,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a statement. “Pearl is a great example of what we can achieve when we plan for the future together by harnessing our strengths and leveraging our collective vision.”

WHAT A GREAT HONOR THIS IS FOR THE PEARL AND THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO!!!!!